Adrenaline
by RedNyx
Summary: Sparrow is Will's adopted sister, rescued by the Strongholds from a villainous father. When she goes to Sky High and meets a certain boy in stripes, will she continue her family's heroic tradition, or find herself on the wrong side of the tracks? LashxOC
1. The First Chapter

**So, this is my first ****_Sky High _****fic. I hope it isn't too horrible...reviews really do help, too! *hint hint* **

_I sat in the dark room, just waiting. I had done this lots of times before, and it was nothing scary. In just a few minutes, Dad would come and open the door to let me out, and we would go on with our lives, just as soon as the scary people left. Dad always fought them off, and then we would move to a new house where he would set up his lab again. _

_Twiddling my thumbs, I thought about my birthday next week. I was turning ten soon, and Dad was going to get me a special present. What would it be? A new puppy? I wanted one of those. I liked puppies._

_I heard the door beginning to open and stood up, excited. But when the person entered the room, I backed away in fear. This was one of the men that chased us all over the world, one of the ones that wanted to stop Dad from doing his work. _

_"Wh-what do you want?" I asked, my little voice shaking._

_"There's nothing to be afraid of," the man said, holding his hand out to me. _

_"Who are you?"_

_He smiled, and it was nice. "I'm the Commander. What's your name?"_

_"S-Sparrow," I whimpered. "Where's my daddy?"_

_The Commander knelt down in front of me. "He's going to be gone for a while. My wife and I are going to take care of you."_

_I sniffled and let a few tears fall down my face as he picked me up and carried me away. He then passed me off to a nice-looking woman who flew across an ocean with me. Somewhere along the way, I fell asleep, and I woke up in a comfy bed in the middle of a sunny room._

_"Oh, good, you're awake!" the woman said, now dressed in a skirt and matching top rather than her supersuit. She sat down at the edge of my bed and smiled warmly. "My name is Josie."_

_A boy with brown hair and a little redheaded girl appeared in the doorway. _

_"And these are Will and Layla," Josie said. _

_"Hi!" Will said, walking up to me. "Come on, I'll show you the house!"_

_My new family was known as the Strongholds, and they raised me alongside them. When I was old enough, they explained the concept of good and evil, and I realized that my father had been on the bad side. They told me that he was in prison for life, and that it was likely that I would never be able to see him. Ever._

_So I tried to forget that life, and instead lived happily as Will's sister. We went to school, and I got my powers. He discovered that Layla made plants grow, and never got his powers. And even though I was a year older than him, Steve and Josie decided to send us to Sky High at the same time. So, when Will was entering as a freshman, I was entering as a sophomore. Which wasn't much better, considering that I didn't know anyone other than Will's friends, who were all freshmen. This was all made worse by the fact that they had already made me start first grade a year late, so really, I should have been a junior. _

_Oh well. Win some, lose some, I guess. _

"Will?" Steve yelled. I heard him walk up the stairs to Will's room and sighed. I didn't want to start school. This day was going to be awful, like every other first day.

With a yawn, I rolled out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth, taking in the pale face and dark hair that I had gotten from my father. It was funny that I couldn't remember what he looked like anymore. It was probably for the best, though; Steve and Josie had always said he was a disgusting little man. But what did that make me?

Shrugging away the foreboding feelings, I slapped on some makeup and rushed to get dressed, not wanting to look completely awful on my first day. I managed to fish a strapped black corset and a pair of black skinny jeans out of my dresser and put them on, hopping down the stairs with my pants still half off.

When I walked into the kitchen, I found Will and Layla watching the Commander and Jetstream defeat a giant robot on the news. No big deal.

"They are good," Will said with what I sensed to be a bit of self-loathing in his voice. He turned the TV off and got up to find his bag.

"Fighting crime this early in the morning?" I asked, twiddling the ring in my nose. I still couldn't believe that Steve and Josie had let me get it, but it seemed like they didn't really care what I did anymore. They were going to be the Stronghold Three with Will, and I was going to sit on the sidelines as Sparrow, That Weird Kid.

"Yup." He answered.

"Still nothing?" I picked up an apple and took a bite as we walked out of the house.

"Nope."

"You know, I know it's our first day, but I already can't wait to graduate and start saving mankind," Layla said, trying to lighten the mood. "And womankind. And animal kind."

"And the rainforest," Will offered.

"Of course!" Layla agreed. "I just feel really good about this year."

"That makes one of us," I mumbled.

"You aren't looking forward to it?" she asked in that nice little Layla voice.

"Everyone will have heard about my dad," I said flatly. "It was easy to blend in at a _normal _school for a year. But something tells me that Sky High will be a bit different."

But in reality, I wasn't very good at blending in anywhere. I was almost expelled last year for fighting, and I almost thought that the principal had me pegged as a super by the end of the year. Steve managed to keep it all quiet, but I knew that the civilian community was suspicious.

We reached the stop and the bus pulled up immediately. I walked right on, keeping my head down as I sat in the back while Will had a conversation with the driver.

"Everyone, it's Will Stronghold! Son of the Commander and Jetstream!" he said excitedly, standing up and shaking Will's hand.

I rolled my eyes.

"My name's Ron Wilson, Sky High bus driver," he said, still excited.

I did my best to ignore things as a dorky little kid tried to give his seat up for them. Next thing I knew, another nerdy kid was hitting on Layla. And I was just trying to hang out in the back, letting everyone pretend I wasn't there.

The bus lurched to a stop and Ron Wilson turned around to us. "Next stop, Sky High!"

_What the fu—_my thoughts were interrupted as we drove off an unfinished bridge and seatbelts wound their way around me. What the hell was going on?! What kind of weirdo made a _flying bus?_

Ron made some speech about the school that I didn't listen to before making a rough landing. I walked out after Will and Layla on legs that seemed to be made out of jelly. It wasn't that I minded heights—I liked sitting on rooftops, even—it was the fact that that bus didn't quite seem safe. And I was taken totally by surprise when we nearly plummeted off a bridge.

"You okay?" Layla asked, eyeing me with concern as we passed a herd of cheerleaders.

"Fine," I said shakily. "No problem at all."

I found myself walking on the edge of the group, watching everyone around me with the same intensity that I always did. Will always said that it was strange, but it was just what I had to do. If we went to a restaurant, I _had _to have the corner booth so that I could watch everyone. If we took a bus somewhere, I _needed_ to sit in the back to keep an eye on things. It's just what I did.

So of course I noticed the tall guy and the fat guy standing a ways away, watching the freshmen and me.

"God, I _hate _that cheer!" the fat kid said as the cheerleaders morphed into one girl.

This place was seriously fucked up. But I concurred with him; cheers sucked.

"Speed, round them up," the tall guy in stripes said.

Next thing I knew, I was trapped in a vortex, pressed up against Will and Layla. The fat kid skidded to a stop in front of us and my rusty little brain made a couple very simple, yet difficult, connections.

"Hey, freshmen!" he yelled. "Your attention, please!"

Stripes appeared at his side. "I'm Lash, this is Speed. And as members of the Sky High welcoming committee…"

"…We'd be happy to collect that fifteen dollar new student fee," Speed finished as Lash stretched his arm out in front of me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Clever."

"There was nothing about a new student fee in the handbook," a kid from the bus said.

Wanting desperately to punch him in the face, I suppressed my violent urges and instead turned my attention to Lash. He wasn't too unfortunate looking, with his shaggy brown hair and bad attitude, and he was certainly more interesting than the brunette Barbie quickly approaching. Her pink outfit gave me a sudden urge to vomit, and if her awful fashion sense wasn't enough, she was just…there was something up with her. I didn't know what it was, but she was too nice. No one who wasn't up to something could ever smile like that, and especially right at Will.

"Alright guys, very funny." She said all too sweetly. "I'll take over from here."

I took the opportunity to inch away. I didn't care if she had information that I needed; I couldn't picture myself listening to her for more than a few seconds without trying to rip her apart. However, that didn't mean that I wouldn't be watching her from now on. I saw that dreamy look on Will's face, and if it didn't go away, I was going to have to tear it off.

"Violent, much?" I jumped.

"What, did I say something out loud?" I asked sarcastically. "Oops, my bad. Toss me in the looney bin before it's too late."

Lash crossed his arms. "Gutsy, freshman."

"I try. But I'm not a freshman. Just an unfortunate new kid."

He shared a glance with Speed, who cleared his throat. "So then, new kid, shouldn't you be getting to power placement?"

"You'd think," I said. "Take me there, and I'll go."

"We've got more important things to do," Lash said.

I shrugged. "Fine. I'll wander."

Tossing my bangs out of my eyes, I walked away and headed into the school. I managed to find the gym after only a few wrong turns, and walked in on Zach pretending that he had powers.

"What'd I miss?" I whispered, standing next to Will.

"Zach is making a fool out of himself," he whispered back.

Seemed about right.

The coach sent him flying back into the crowd and I suppressed a little grin. He kind of deserved it, with all of the talking he did about himself. I sat through a few hours of kids turning into puddles, and guinea pigs, and imitations of Coach Boomer before Layla took the opportunity to argue with the man himself.

"I—I believe in only using my powers when the situation demands it," she said.

"Not now, Layla," I hissed. The man looked serious.

"Well, you're in luck. This is a situation, and I'm demanding it."

"But to participate in this test would be to support a flawed system," Layla argued. "I think the whole hero-sidekick-"

"Let me get this straight," Boomer interrupted. "Are you refusing to show me your powers?"

"It's more complicated than that, I mean-"

"SIDEKICK!" he yelled just as the bell rang. "All right. We'll pick it up after lunch. Starting with _you." _He pointed at me. I gulped. My powers weren't like everyone else's. They were a product of my father's experiments, and were rather…dangerously unpredictable. Kind of like me.

I followed the others out of the gym, chatting with Layla about the whole fascism-thing. "Why don't you just show him your powers?"

"Because," she said. "It's stupid."

"You would probably be a hero," I argued. "Just shut up and-"

I was interrupted when my face hit the floor.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" I yelled, pushing myself up to face Lash and Speed, who stood laughing on the other side of the hall.

"Sparrow, let it go," Will warned as my temper rose.

"Shut up, Stronghold!" I snapped, pointing at him.

He took the hint and tugged Layla along to the cafeteria. He knew I could take care of myself, and I'm sure he didn't want to get caught in the middle of anything destructive.

I marched right up to Lash, who spread his arms wide. "Gonna do anything, little Sparrow?"

"The last guy who messed with me was in the ICU for three weeks," I snarled, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him down to me. "So I'd suggest that you run off, before something unfortunate happens."

He only continued laughing. "I like your style, Birdie." I felt his arm snake around my waist, and before I could do anything, I was lifted up near the ceiling. "But I prefer you up there."

"Put me down, asshole!" I yelled to him as he turned me upside down. The blood rushed to my head and I felt my face turning colors. When I wasn't returned to the floor after a few seconds, I just folded my arms over my chest and huffed. Idiots.

"Hey, Sparrow!" the girl named Magenta yelled, appearing at the end of the hall. "Quit playing around and come eat lunch!"

"Be there in a minute!" I shouted to her. "Lash, put me down."

"I like you better up there."

"Put. Me. The fuck. Down." I said, aware of the fact that my boobs were dangerously close to falling out of my top.

"If you say so."

Oh look, the ground. In my face. Again.

I groaned and stood up, rolling my shoulders. "Thank you very much."

"That didn't hurt?" Speed asked stupidly.

"Oh, trust me, I'm tougher than that."

He looked at Lash and nudged him with his elbow. "What d'you think?"

Lash seemed to be considering me. "If the other one refuses."

"What are you bastards talking abou-"

"Come on," Magenta interrupted, taking my arm and dragging me away. She was pretty strong for a guinea pig, I had to admit. "Will's wanting to know if you killed anyone yet."

"I wish," I growled.

"Sick," she said in admiration. "You're pretty hardcore, Sparrow. What's your power?"

"Extreme mental problems."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."


	2. Detention Time

**Here we are with CHAPTAH TWO :D Hope y'all are enjoying this so far. I know I am. I also know that I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, although if I could, I would kidnap Lash. But that's just me. **

"What's your name?" Boomer barked.

"Sparrow Stronghold."

"What's your power?"

I shrugged. "I'll fight off whatever you want."

He looked me over for a minute. "Car."

With only a split second to react, my already adrenaline-filled veins started to drown in the chemical. The world slowed down as I heard the car start to drop. Throwing my arms above me, I felt my hands collide with whatever it is that's under a car and I forced them to stay there, my knees bending as I struggled with the huge chunk of metal.

My strength started to drain away just as the car was lifted off of me. I was glad for that; I wasn't strong like the Commander. I was "made" in his image, sure, but my father went about it an entirely different way. He messed with me so that I was always on edge, always full of adrenaline, so that when the situation called for it, I got even more. Was it healthy? Probably not, but he made up for that by screwing with other things. All I know is that he was a big Wolverine fan, because whatever's in my system has got to be at least a little bit like adamantium.

Boomer was impressed. "Stronghold, you said?"

"Not biologically."

He raised an eyebrow. "Either way, hero!"

"Nice!" Ethan said as I walked back to the crowd.

"Whatever. I need to pee." I walked away, not wanting to watch Will embarrass himself. I was walking down the hall when I heard Boomer shout.

"_SSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIDEKIIIIIIIIIIIICK_!"

I closed my eyes and grimaced. Poor guy. Steve was going to kill him when he found out.

"Get back here!" a familiar voice yelled. I spotted a freshman attempting to crawl away just a few yards down the hall. He looked to me for help only to be pulled back by Lash. "We aren't finished with you!"

"Let the kid go, Lash." I said. "I'm sure he doesn't have anything useful."

Lash looked up at me, surprised. "Well, well. Couldn't get enough of me, could you?"

"I think it's the other way around," I said, about as close as I would ever get to flirting. I just wasn't capable of romantic things.

He grinned. "Then why don't you take this one?"

"I don't bully freshmen," I said. "Unless they make me mad. And this one hasn't done anything. Yet."

"And _what _are you three doing?"

I turned to see a woman dressed all in white tapping her foot.

"Principle Powers, would we _ever _do anything you wouldn't approve of?" Lash asked, letting the freshman go.

"We were just helping him get to class," Speed said.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll see you in detention after school."

"What?" I asked. "I didn't do anything!"

She looked at me over her glasses. "I have seen your record, Miss Stronghold, and I find it difficult to believe that you haven't done at least _something _aggressive today. In any case, you are in violation of the dress code. I'll see you soon."

That really made my blood boil.

"Speed," Lash said as Powers left. "Go find that kid. I'm not finished with him."

Speed nodded and took off, leaving me alone with who I was now beginning to suspect was a sexual predator.

"A record, huh?" Lash asked. "A _Stronghold_ with a record?"

"Yeah, so?" I snapped."

"The other one is so…_boring."_

"Leave Will alone," I growled.

"Only if he's a hero," he laughed, leaning close to me. "Which brings to question: what are _you?"_

I pushed him away. "Hero. Now fuck off."

"So angry," he said, following me down the hall. "Is that your power?"

"In a sense."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and threw me into a locker. "I like you, Birdie. Why don't you hang with me this year?"

Who did he think he was? "I don't 'hang' with people. So thanks, but no thanks." I pried his arm away and stormed off down the hall, wandering back to the gym to watch the rest of power placement.

"Where were you?" Layla hissed.

"Making friends," I whispered. "I have detention."

"What? Already?"

"Thank Lash."

"That jerk got you in trouble with Powers?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"I'm also in violation of the dress code," I said. "Where's Will?"

"Nurse's office. The car did some damage, as did being thrown into a wall."

"I imagine it would. Will's a bit of a softie." I sighed. "I guess you'll be having fun in sidekick-land without me."

"Hero Support," she corrected.

"Right. Hero support."

"I'm very disappointed in you three," Principle Powers said. "Speed, Lash, I thought we'd gotten over your bad habits last year, but apparently I was wrong. As for you, Miss Stronghold, you can rest assured that I've called your parents, and they are _very _angry with you."

"I'm sure," I mumbled, leaning my head on my hand as I tried to not to drool on the desk in front of me.

"I hope you'll think about your actions while you're here," she said as she stepped back and the door closed, leaving me surrounded by the blinding white walls of the detention room.

"A Stronghold in detention," Speed commented. "Has to be a first."

"This one's different from the sidekick," Lash said.

"I have a name, you know." I snarled.

"Fine, _Birdie_."

"Don't call me that,"

"Does it make you angry?"

"No," I sighed angrily. The name "Birdie" pissed me off, but not because I thought it was annoying. "It's just…nothing. Bad memories is all."

Speed and Lash looked confused. "What?"

I offered a fake smile, brushing some hair out of my eyes. "Nothing. How long are we stuck in here?"

"Another hour." Speed said.

"How am I supposed to survive?"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Lash said cheekily. "I'm here to make things all better."

"You're disgusting."

"Speed can avert his eyes. Can't you, Speed?"

"Shut up," I said, putting my head on my desk. I wasn't looking to get with anyone; I just wanted to make it through my three years at Sky High, graduate, and then…well, I wouldn't go into the family business, that was for sure. I didn't want anything to do with the power struggle between heroes and villains; I didn't want to fight or make crime. Maybe I could deal arms to both sides. Yeah, that could work.

"You're not like your brother," Speed said, breaking the silence.

I looked up at him. "He's only my brother by law."

"I knew you weren't good enough to be a real Stronghold," Lash sneered.

He then took a middle finger to the face. "That's what I think of you, ass."

"_So _unladylike," he said, unfazed. "What would the Commander think?"

I barked a laugh. "The Commander knows that I can take care of myself. He didn't waste his time trying to teach me manners."

"Seems to me that you have daddy issues."

"In your dreams, pervert."

"In _yours, _hot stuff." He grinned when he saw how uncomfortable that made me.

I pulled out a notebook and a pencil. "Keep your mouth shut for the rest of this and I won't break your jaw."


	3. Possessive

**This one's kinda short, sorry :/ (thatswhatshesaid:Dlulz) **

Lash

"What d'you think of her?" Speed asked as we watched Sparrow walk to the bus.

I focused on her hips as she marched away, noticing how nicely she filled out her jeans. Dammit, Lash, she's a _Stronghold, _for fuck's sake! But…not a real one. That put her back out on the playing field. God, _no,_ that's not—ah, fuck. She was hot.

"Full of surprises," I said, grinning to myself. "I got dibs on this one."

Speed snorted. "Fine. I didn't want her anyways. Too much work."

"But that's where you're wrong, my friend," I said, putting an arm around his shoulders as we walked. "She's just _enough _work."

"Knock yourself out, Lash. Just don't go all soft on me."

"Me, go soft? Where's your faith?"

"On Mars, with your brain."

"What, you don't like her?"

"Oh, I like her. As an _ally. _I just wouldn't go near her naked. She'd castrate me."

My face paled at the thought. "She probably would."

Speed stopped and looked at me. "Take the bus home."

"What? Why?"

He elbowed me away. "She's the only one there, dumbass. Go and make friends."

I grinned and stretched toward the bus, pulling myself in just as the joke of a driver was shutting the doors. Sparrow was sitting in the back, and as I made my way over to her, she looked up with an annoyed expression.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"Needed a ride home," I said, sitting next to her. "Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

God, she was cute when she was mad. "Go sit somewhere else."

"Now, why would I do that?" I asked, making sure that I got at least one good look down at her boobs while I was sitting there. "The view is _so _nice from here…"

"Ugh." Was all she said before crossing her arms and turning toward the window.

Dammit.

"So, what's your story?" I asked, mostly in an effort to get her to speak. But I couldn't lie…I was a little bit interested in why she was a mock-Stronghold.

She glanced at me before snorting a laugh. "Like you care."

"Oh, but I do, Birdie." I stretched an arm around her shoulders. "Talk to me."

With nowhere to run, she was forced to just accept me there. With a sigh, she actually starting to speak, and I was a little surprised in how easily she gave in. "I used to go all over the world with my father. I didn't really know it then, but he was always slinking around, trying to find places to set up his lab for experiments. Heroes like the Commander and Jetstream would always follow us to stop him, and one day they did. Steve and Josie took me in and raised me with Will. End of story."

"So what happened to your dad?"

"Three life sentences, no visitors. He's in solitary."

"What about your mom?"

She shrugged. "Never met her." Then she returned to her normal, angry self. "Why do you care so much? Shouldn't you be throwing a freshman off the school?"

"Probably. But, you know what? It gets boring." I yawned for effect.

"Then go find some girl to occupy yourself with."

I grinned. "Already did."

She stared at me for a second before her elbow went straight into my crotch. "Stay away from me, Lash."

_GODDAMMITFUCKINGMOTHERFUCKER SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIIIIIITTTT T _were just a few of the things running through my head as I squeezed my eyes shut against the tears threatening to form in the corners. I cringed away as she threatened me again. Damn, this girl was psycho.

"What was that for?!" I asked, opening my eyes again to glare at her.

"Just making sure that you can never procreate."

I grinned, determined to win her over. Even if she _was _completely crazy, she was still hot. "Don't lie, Birdie. You know you wanna procreate with me."

She wrinkled her nose. "You're a _pig, _Lash."

"Oh, but I'm _your _pig, Birdie."

"I don't need your attention, you know."

But she did. Okay, maybe she didn't _need _it, but she sure as hell deserved it. "Why do you resist me?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't cross me, Lash. If I say that I don't want something, _don't fucking do it."_

"Fair enough."

The bus screeched to a stop and I realized that we were in suburbia. Sparrow stood up and motioned for me to move, rolling her eyes as I followed her onto the sidewalk. Her coldness just made me want her more.

"You really don't need to follow me home," she said flatly.

"Then why don't I just walk with you?" I asked, sliding an arm around her waist. She was just the right height, I realized—not too tall, pretty damn short—and as I pulled her to my side, I discovered that she fit pretty perfectly there, too. Where _else_ would she-?

"I don't approve of this in the least," she grumbled.

"C'mon, Birdie, just admit it."

"Admit what?"

"You're madly in love with me."

"Uh, no." she tried to pry my fingers away. "Dammit, Lash-"

I didn't listen to her babbling; instead, I watched the group of non-super guys that were checking her out from down the street. They really made my blood boil, standing there, looking at her like she was food. Fuck them. She was _mine._

Why the hell did I care so much again?

"Hey, lady!" one of them yelled.

I was going to fuck him up.

"Ignore them," Sparrow said. "They're just stupid local guys." She hid her uncertainty well, but I could feel it there. There was no way in hell that I was letting go of her now.

Sparrow

I'm pretty sure Lash was going to leave claw marks on my hip. God, I knew the local hoodlums were jerks, but really, Lash? Really? We weren't even anywhere _near _having a positive relationship, and he was already pulling me around by my waist?

He grumbled something inaudible and I rolled my eyes. "My house is right here. Feel free to leave."

"Sure. Fine. Whatever," he said.

"That means that you have to let me go."

"What?" I realized that he hadn't actually been paying any attention to me and sighed. "Goodbye, Lash."

I squirmed away from him and trotted up the walk to the porch. I only looked back when I was opening the front door, and when I did, I saw Lash standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching me.

_Might as well have some manners. _"Thanks," I said, trying to offer an uncharacteristic smile. You know. To make him feel better or something.

He looked like he was going to follow me up to the house, but after a few seconds he gave a grin and swaggered off. "Later, baby."

I growled to myself just before turning around to find a very angry Steve frowning down at me. Goddamnit. This was just not my day.

"Sparrow." He said, arms folded over his chest. "We got a call from Principal Powers. I'm very disappointed in you."

My face reddened with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "I didn't even do anything," I mumbled, eyes on the floor.

He sighed, took his glasses off, and pinched the bridge of his nose in that way that parents do. "I thought that we had an agreement, Sparrow. That this year was going to be different."

"I tried!" I insisted, although I couldn't really recall any attempts on my part to calm myself down today. "Powers just came along and gave me detention because of her stupid dress code."

The Commander looked me over. "Which reminds me: you're not going out in _that _ever again."

"Stee-eeve!" I whined, following him as he turned and walked into the dining room. "I _like _looking like I know how to dress myself!"

"You're practically falling out of that, honey," Josie said, taking a break from her phone conversation for a minute to set a plate down on the table.

"Your mother's right," Steve agreed. "And who was that—_boy?"_

"Boy?" Josie asked, interested again as she put the phone down.

"He looked like bad news," Steve said as he headed toward the door to the sanctum. "I need to get back to Will. Listen to whatever she has to say, got it?"

I sighed, leaning back against the table. He was usually awesome about trusting me and letting me do what I wanted, but sometimes, he got…intense. Steve was a good dad, sure, but I preferred that he devote more of his time to Will. I wasn't his kid, and even though he treated me like his own, I would never really be a Stronghold. I was just Sparrow, the girl whose dad experimented on her without her knowledge and turned into a half-hero freak.

"Sparrow," Josie said, putting a hand on my back. "I know that this isn't a big deal. However, that doesn't mean that you're off the hook."

I groaned.

"If it happens again, you'll be grounded." she nudged me with her elbow. "So come on, let's talk about that boy. Who is he?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nobody. He's just a jerk from school."

She smiled at me like she wanted to gossip. "Come on, tell me! Do you like him?"

"No!" I said quickly. "He's _stupid! _If he wasn't so damn _stretchy _I would've already kicked his ass into next week!"

A smile quirked at the edges of her mouth as she went into the kitchen to bring out dinner. "Sparrow, if there's one thing I know, it's how to tell if my daughter is infatuated with a boy. Remember that one a few years ago?"

My face burned. "Let's not talk about this,"

"But you were so cute," she said.

"Josie," I started.

"I know, I know," she came back with a casserole. "I'll go get your father and Will."


	4. Of Sidekicks and Swirlies

**Hey there :D Here we are, back with another chapter! So, my friend and I JUST watched Sky High again, and this time, we noticed a couple little details:**

**1. During the medley part type thing when they're going through what everyone is learning in Hero Support, there's a scene where Mr. Boy writes "Holy_, _ man!" Of course, because we love Batman so much (all forms of Batman, even the old, cheesy ones) that just kind of made our day. Holy Hidden Messages, Batman!**

**2. Will has like 5 Aquabats posters in his room, and one Tenacious D poster. Is it creepy that I'm noting these things? I don't really know. **

**3. You know how when Gwen reveals herself as Royal Pain at homecoming she has those giant light up signs that say ROYAL PAIN that come out of the walls? How the hell did no one catch her installing those?**

**Some answers may never be answered. **

**On an unrelated note, in an effort to be more true to the year Sky High came out (2003) I've been listening to music from '03, and WOW I FEEL OLD :I Some of this music is still so badass though. You can definitely count on some of it appearing in future chapters xD**

"Welcome back to another year," Mrs. Perkey said. "And welcome to _History of Heroes_. Everyone, go get a book and then find your seat."

I sighed and followed the others to the back of the room. My last class before lunch. I could do this. I could survive another hour.

"Fancy meeting you here,"

I couldn't survive this hour.

"Hey there," I said, not amused.

"How'd the talk with daddy go last night?" Lash asked, reaching a striped arm around the other students and retrieving a book for me.

"It was fine," I said, turning and walking to a spot in the back. "He left after telling me that he was disappointed. Seems Will needs more attention."

He smirked and sat next to me. "Maybe I should hang around more often. Keep you from getting lonely."

I snorted. "You? In my house? The Commander would destroy you. He wasn't very happy that you were even with me."

"With you? I like the sound of that."

"Not like that, jackass," I snapped.

"Miss Stronghold," Mrs. Perkey said sternly. "A _hero_ does not use that sort of language. Please, watch your tongue."

"A villain does," Lash said, leaning back and putting his feet up on his desk.

She sighed. "We aren't going to talk about this today, Mr. Livingston. If you want to go into villainy, that's your choice, but _please _don't speak of it in my class."

He laughed to himself as she returned to the front of the room. "It's like they expect something different."

"Heroism not your thing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? A hero? Maybe you aren't as smart as I thought, Birdie."

I scowled. "You underestimate me, Lashie."

"Lashie?"

"Would you prefer dick-head?"

He grimaced. "I know you like my crotch area, but really, do you always have to talk about it?"

"Oh my _God, _Lash, you're _awful." _I turned away from him to open my book.

"I'd love to hear you say that in a more interesting setting," he said, cheeky as ever.

"Fuck _off," _I groaned.

"Only if you'll fuck _on,"_

"Please just let me get through this class," I said, practically praying. "Please, oh please oh please oh please-"

"Christ, stop _talking_ like that," Lash said.

"Mr. Livingston, Miss Stronghold, please quiet down," Perkey ordered. "Now, everyone, open your books to chapter one." She cleared her throat. "_Chapter One: Prehistoric Heroes. It may seem like superheroes are a modern fad, but paintings depicting individuals with super strength have been found in caves across Europe, possibly dating back to as early as 30,000 B.C. The Prehistoric Hero was most likely an individual with incredible physical abilities, possibly due to radioactive fumes or other such catalysts…."_

Lash followed me out to lunch, and after Speed found us, the two demanded that I stick with them rather than finding my friends. I didn't listen, of course, and stomped away before they could do much to stop me.

"Shouldn't you be with your hero friends?" Magenta asked as I sat down next to her.

"You act like I actually have friends," I said, taking a sip of my chocolate milk.

"Lash seems to think so," Layla said. "Oh God, Speed's coming over here."

"Ethan, keep your head down," Magenta said sarcastically.

I heard Speed zip by behind me and before I knew what was happening, I was on the other side of the room and nauseous.

And I didn't even have my milk.

"Dammit," I said, wobbling on my shaky knees. "Was that really necessary?"

"We told you, you can't sit with those losers anymore," Speed said.

"They're sidekicks, and you're a hero," Lash put an arm around my shoulders.

"I'm _not _sitting with Gwen and Penny." I had Penny in my first class, and holy shit, I thought I was going to dent her skull. I probably should have, too.

"You don't have to," Speed said.

"There are plenty of freshmen sidekicks around to occupy ourselves with," Lash said, steering me toward another bunch of scared-looking kids. "Go, Speed."

He ran forward and had them rounded up in a blur. Lash gave me a little shove in their direction.

"Go on. Have some fun."

I looked back at him, irritated. "I'm not going to mess with them."

Lash shook his head and smiled. "You poor, innocent girl. In a few weeks, you won't be such a goody-two-shoes, Birdie." He tightened his grip on my shoulders. "But okay. If you aren't going to do anything, then at least choose the kid that's going to get their head dunked in a toilet."

I really didn't want to do this. As he walked me towards them, though, I realized that it was nice having his arm around me. I didn't really like _him _so much as I enjoyed someone being right there. The presence of him beside me was comforting, to say the least, and the longer it went on, the less I wanted it to end.

"So go on, Sparrow," Lash said. "Who's it going to be?"

Looking them over, I realized that I recognized most of them from power placement yesterday. They hadn't held up very well against Boomer, and they didn't seem to be holding up very well right now, against these two baboons. Their terrified little faces were proving very hard to incriminate.

Finally, one drew up the courage to make my job a little easier. "You must think you're so cool, don't you?"

I raised an eyebrow, trying to keep my cool in front of Lash. "Think so?"

The kid seemed to get angrier. "Just because you're a _hero _and the rest of us are just _support _doesn't mean that you have the right to-"

Lash's hand strayed to the small of my back. "Just let me shove this guy's head in a toilet, Sparrow."

I smiled. This boy was actually starting to piss me off. Maybe some treated water would do him a bit of good. "Do it."

Speed grinned and seized the freshman by his shirt collar, dragging him away to the bathroom. Lash followed at a more leisurely pace, forcing me along with that hand that stayed on my back at all times. Not that I was really complaining anymore.

As we rounded a corner, he looked down at me with what I could only assume was fondness. "Stronghold…what would The Commander think?"

I didn't want Lash to think that I was some daddy's girl. "To hell with what he thinks."

He seemed impressed. I was, too.

I stopped at the door to the bathroom, but Lash pushed me along anyway.

"This is weird, Lash," I said. I had never exactly been in a guys' room before, and I had never really anticipated doing it, especially in the company of Lash.

"What, scared?" he grinned as he heard Speed flush the toilet and then the subsequent spluttering of the sidekick.

"No!" I answered angrily.

"Then get in here," he said, pulling me up to him.

I had to admit, watching that freshman with his face in a toilet was pretty funny. It was rare that I ever laughed, and rarer still that I laughed this much. Lash noticed and took the opportunity to hug me to his chest, and somewhere along the line I covered his hands with my own. I didn't even notice until Speed let the sidekick go and Will walked in.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Sp-Sparrow?" he asked, confused. "God, Layla's been looking all over for you!"

I jumped away from Lash. "I—uh…y-yeah, I'll go…do that,"

"Get back here," Lash reached for me and pulled me back to him.

"Your sister's hanging with us, Stronghold," Speed said. "How does that make you feel?"

Will was always so predictable. He walked right into their mockery trap, leading himself astray by actually telling them how he felt. "Sparrow, why would you hang out with them? You know how they treat hero support…don't we mean anything to you?"

Now, that really pulled at my heartstrings. "We'll talk about this at home."

"But-"

"Later!" I snapped.

He backed off. "Okay, okay. I'll just…go tell Layla that you didn't fall off the school yet."

He scurried away, leaving me feeling like a complete ass. It was only the second day and I was already being a jerk to the few friends that I had.

"Come on, cheer up," Lash said, clapping me on the back. "They're sidekicks. They're _below _you."

That made me feel even shittier.


	5. Sex on Legs, According to Him

**I'm so sorry, but this is a short chapter too :I I'm such a disappointment~**

Layla was over that night when I emerged from my room for dinner, and she glared at me throughout the entire meal. How was I supposed to enjoy meatloaf with her looking like that?

"Sparrow," she said as Steve and Josie were busy talking about their upcoming meeting with the president. "Will told me about that sidekick that you let those jerks bully."

"Yeah, so?" I asked through a mouthful of food.

"You _know _that Lash and Speed are bad news," she argued.

I shrugged and swallowed. "I can't control them. Besides, it's not like the kid died or anything. He just got his face a little soggy."

"See? _That's _what's wrong with this whole fascist system," Layla said. "Idiots like Lash think that it's just fine to bully people because they're sidekicks and he's a hero. But if the hero/sidekick system wasn't in place, he wouldn't be making fun of people just because they aren't in hero classes. I mean, if you ask me, the whole school needs to just be re-wired-"

Josie stood up suddenly, looking at her phone. "Steve, it's a distress call from Brazil."

He looked up at her for a moment before turning to the rest of us. "We'll be back soon, everyone. Behave yourselves."

Together, they ran to the sanctum, as usual, leaving us to finish dinner without them. Will looked back and forth between Layla and me, trying to get us to cheer up.

"So, Layla, how about that pop quiz in Gadgetry today?" he asked, making small talk. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

And just like that, she was perky and acting like her usual self. "Yeah, I had no idea that Captain America's shield was engineered that way!"

"I learned about prehistoric heroes," I said, trying to insert myself. But they ignored me, and with nothing else to do and no parents to tell me that I couldn't go anywhere, I hopped out the door before Will or Layla could tell me not to.

I didn't really know where to go, so I just started walking down the road, passing elderly couples sitting on benches with Josie's face on them. Ah, the shameless advertising. Such chivalry has never before been seen.

"Well, well, look who it is," a guy said as I passed. Dammit. It was one of those losers that hung around on street corners, trying to pretend he was from the hood when he was actually part of an upper-middle-class family in suburbia. "What's your name?"

I made a noise of disgust at his Hollister and American Eagle outfit and kept walking. No way was I going to admit defeat and run along home already. This was my walk, and if he wanted to interrupt it, he was going to be feeling quite a bit of pain.

"Come back here," the jackass said roughly, grabbing my wrist. I whipped around to face him dangerously, nostrils flaring as he took a step toward me.

"You don't know me, so it's only fair that I give you warning," I snarled. "Touch me again, and I'll put you in a coma."

He only chuckled. "You're the realtors' kid, aren't you?"

"Fuck off."

"Wow. I didn't know that people as boring as the Strongholds had such an angry daughter."

Boring? The Commander and Jetstream were _boring? _If only this idiot _knew _who he was talking about. They had probably saved his ass dozens of times, albeit indirectly, and here he was talking shit about them.

"Oh, you did _not _just call my parents boring," I said with a little laugh as I pulled my wrist out of his grasp. "But I'll tell you what: if you get out of here now, I won't even punch you. It's a good deal. You should take it."

He grinned in a way that was similar to Lash's signature smirk, but at the same time it was completely different. "Such big talk for such a little chick. Why don't you spend some time with me? You were hanging around with that other guy yesterday, right? I'll show you a better time. Promise."

And then he lunged at me. When I even noticed him tense slightly, I knew that he was going to try something, and that adrenaline came back to me. Oh, this creep was going to be in pain.

I pulled my arm back and let my fist collide with his jaw, a satisfying crack resounding from the impact. As he stumbled away, I made to sure to aim another hook at his right eye, just so that he would have a shiner that would tell his friends that their buddy was a huge pussy.

He put a hand up to his face and almost screeched when he realized how badly he was bruised. "Y-you're going to pay for this, bitch!"

I smiled. "I'm sure."

He started to go off on some big speech about me, but of course I wasn't listening. Such arrogance from a guy who obviously had no balls…this loser made Lash look like a knight in shining armor.

A flash of black and white in my peripheral vision caught my eye and I focused in on it. Speak of the devil, there was the hero himself, sauntering up with his hands in his pockets, trying to look cooler than he really was. But the really sad part was that I was extremely happy to see him.

"'Sup, sexy?" he asked, reaching my side and sliding an arm around my waist.

"Hollister here was just voicing his opinions about Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold," I said, nodding towards the lame-o with a face that was quickly turning purple in a few places.

Lash raised an eyebrow. "The Strongholds?"

"Apparently they're boring," I drawled, nonchalantly looking at my nails. "Oh, and I'm a bitch. And he wants to show me a good time. Any opinions on that?" I smiled up at him and mouthed _play along. _

He tightened his grip on me and looked at the Hollister guy. "You hitting on my Birdie?"

He put his hands up in defense. "So what? Look at what that little bitch did to my face!"

"Do _not _call her a _bitch!" _Lash snarled, more forcefully than I expected. "Now get the fuck out of here. And don't let me catch you talking to her ever again."

"Pfft. Or what?"

"Or I'll let her do more than mess your face up."

That guy was out of there faster than I thought possible. He took off down the street, probably to go home and cry to his mother. I beamed up at Lash, taking in his face. He really didn't look too bad; in fact, he was starting to look pretty good. And then there was the fact that his arm was still around me, and I didn't want it to leave.

Fuck. I was really starting to like him.

"So, I guess you can take care of yourself," he said as we started walking in the direction I had originally been going.

"It kind of goes along with being a psycho," I smiled a little at myself.

"Is that your power? Beating people up?"

"Kind of. You know how my dad was so crazy? He was also obsessed with superstrength. So he tried to give me, his normal daughter, powers, and it ended up in me being…me."

"Damn. I wish I had a better story behind my power." He slipped his hand around my studded belt and wound his thumb through one of the loops.

"We can't all be as exciting as I am," I said sarcastically.

"Hey, I don't need to be like you. I'm sex on legs, baby. There's nothing better than Lash."

I rolled my eyes. If I thought he was being genuinely sweet for a minute there, he had obviously reverted back to his natural state. "So humble."

"You know it. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Will's parents are in Brazil, and he and Layla are sitting around talking about sidekick stuff," I shrugged. "Didn't feel like sticking around if I didn't have to."

Lash grinned. "You could spend the night with me instead."

"Uh, no."

"Why? You obviously _looooove _me. I know you're just _begging_ for me to grace you with my presence."

"Keep dreaming, rubber boy. I'll be just fine and dandy sleeping in my own bed tonight."


	6. A Breakfast Buddy

**This chapter gave me issues :/ I'm not too happy with it, but I felt like it needed to be included, so I left it in...leave your thoughts in the reviews, I'm interested in knowing what you think about this one.**

"Where were you?" Will asked as I snuck through the front door.

"Just out for a walk. Steve and Josie back yet?"

"No."

I walked around him to the bowl of apples sitting in the kitchen. "Where's Layla?"

"She left. Something about the cat and his addiction."

"Addiction?"

"To cat nip." He grinned. "Her mom called to yell at her for growing too much."

I snorted. "I love their family issues."

"Right? So…what were you doing in the guys' bathroom earlier?"

I took a bite of apple. "So, yesterday Lash and Speed got me stuck in detention, right? Well, today they decided that I needed to 'hang with them.' So they made me choose a sidekick to swirly, and there was this one kid that wouldn't shut his mouth-"

"So you just…threw him in the toilet?" Will asked disbelievingly.

"No," I said in defense. "I didn't do anything to that kid. I was just dragged along with Lash and Speed did their thing, and while I did find it somewhat hilarious, I still don't condone that sort of behavior-"

"But doesn't hanging out with them make you a…villain?"

That accusation startled me a little. "No! Besides, they aren't anything more than stupid bullies. They aren't even dangerous." I thought back to Lash's snarl at the jerk from down the street and briefly considered revoking my claim. It seemed like he could be totally badass if he wanted.

"But…Sparrow, they're…idiots."

I smiled. "I know. Now come on, let's talk about something else. What's up?"

He got really excited. "Okay, so you know Gwen Grayson?"

Oh no. "Yeah. What about her?"

"She smiled at me today. Isn't that crazy? The greatest, most beautiful girl in school smiled at _me!"_

He was brainwashed. Maybe that was her power. "That doesn't bode well for the rest of us, then. Way to make me feel confident."

"Dude, come on! I think she likes me." He got a dreamy smile on his face. "Wouldn't that be great?"

"You don't even know if she _does _like you," I said, shooting him down. "Girls are complicated; she might just think of a really funny joke every time she sees your face. I know I do that sometimes."

He just continued grinning and drifted up the stairs to his room. What was he getting himself into? If Will Stronghold starting hanging out with Gwen, then I would never be rid of her. She was so charming that she would probably win over Steve and Josie, and although I still had no idea what she was up to, I knew that there was something there. There was something incredibly suspicious about her behavior, and I couldn't put my finger on it.

But oh, it was there. And I was going to find out what it was before she could do anything.

"SPARROW! WAKE UP, YOU'LL BE LATE!" Josie yelled up the stairs.

My eyes shot open and I groaned. I didn't want to go back for my third day. I didn't want to deal with Gwen. I did, however, want to see Lash, and my stupid schoolgirl crush had enough power to get me out of bed and into the bathroom before Will could get there.

It was a good thing I showered at night, because otherwise, I would have been spending a full hour on myself, and Will would probably have been going through the wall to get in. If he had his powers, that is. And he didn't…for now, at least. I was safe for now.

After I did my usual stuff, I left for my room, running past Will before he could yell at me. Digging through my closet, I grabbed a white tank top and some skinny jeans. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized that my lack of sleeves was probably against the dress code, and I didn't feel like violating that again. With a sigh, I found a hoodie and threw it on. That should satisfy Principle Powers and her hate for fashion.

"Come on, Will!" I shouted as I ran downstairs.

"Yeah, yeah!" he yelled, emerging from his room to follow me.

"Bye, Josie!" I said as we ran through the kitchen.

"You're not leaving without breakfast," she said, grabbing my hood and pulling me into a chair. "You've got a few minutes. Just enjoy your pancakes, alright?"

I obeyed and took a few bites. It was always a mistake to disagree with Mrs. Stronghold, especially over breakfast.

"Sparrow, could you do me a favor and go get the paper?" Steve asked, walking in. "Where are my glasses?"

I got up and headed outside, grumbling a few choice words as I emerged into the world and spotted the newspaper lying on the driveway. Damn paperboy couldn't even throw it to the door. What's more, Steve and Josie were on the front page, fighting the robot from a few days earlier. It was amazing that they managed to keep their identities hidden from the citizens, wasn't it?

"Well, well, look at this," a familiar voice said from the sidewalk. I looked up to see Lash standing there, in his usual stripes and a black tee along with white skinny jeans. Damn, that boy looked fine in those pants.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Out for a walk before school."

"Sounds suspicious."

"It's always the distrust with you," he grinned.

I was opening my mouth to say something when Josie interrupted me from the porch. "Sparrow, get in here! And bring your friend!"

Oh God.

"Ugh. Come on, I guess…we're having pancakes for breakfast."

"You actually eat breakfast?" he asked as we walked into the house.

"Yeah…you don't?" I asked, throwing the paper at Steve, who caught it without looking away from his coffee.

Lash shrugged again.

"So, you must be that boy Sparrow talks about," Josie said, steering him to a chair and placing a plate of pancakes in front of him.

"Josie!" I yelled, my face reddening.

Lash only smiled charmingly. "That would be me, ma'am."

I glanced over at Will to see him inching away as far as he could without being noticed and smirked to myself. If he wanted to always talk about Gwen, then he would have to put up with Lash being here.

Steve looked at Lash over his glasses. "Alright, son. What's your power?"

"I stretch."

_Please don't think that's weird please don't think that's weird please don't think that's—_

"Interesting," Steve said, suddenly deciding to participate in the interrogation. I tried to listen as little as I could, choosing instead to have a silent conversation across the table with Will via facial expressions.

He raised both eyebrows at me and gave a slight nod in Lash's direction next to me, so I replied with mouthing _this is your punishment._

_For what?_ He asked.

_Everything._

_Screw you._

I smiled. He was just angry that his parents were warming up to the school bully.

"Will, the bus will be there any minute!" Layla burst through the front door. "Come _on! _Sparrow, Lash—Lash?"

"I'll explain later." I said, grabbing Lash's arm and dragging him out the door with me.

"Okay, how about explaining _now?" _Will asked as we walked down the street.

"What, Stronghold? Don't like having me in your house?" Lash asked, sliding his arm around my waist.

Will mumbled something I couldn't hear and started walking faster. Layla went with him, and soon Lash and I were left in relative peace.

"Might I just say that I find it highly unlikely that you were just 'taking a walk' and happened to be at my house just as I was going outside." I said, nervously putting my arm around his waist.

He rolled his eyes at my hesitation and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer than I wanted to be. "So what? I was just out for a stroll. Quit being so suspicious of everything."

"It seems like a strange coincidence, Stretchy. And why were you so nice to Steve and Josie?"

"Birdie, when am I ever _not _nice?"

I snorted. "Every day, all the time? Don't even lie."

"Did you ever consider that maybe I don't feel like getting beaten to a pulp every morning by The Commander? Because I don't."

I smiled. "Yeah, well…if you're ever going to be a big bad villain, you oughtta be able to take a hit, especially from someone like The Commander."

He looked down at me. "You actually think I'll make it as a villain?"

"You don't?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Might as well give it a shot. I'm failing everything anyway."

"You're pretty suave for a flunkie," I said.

"Thanks. I try."


	7. Baby Stronghold Gets his Powers

As the days passed, I got used to Sky High and the irritants that were Speed and Lash. We spent lunch terrorizing freshmen, a sport that I discovered I was perfect for, so long as I threw out my morals. If they ran, Speed cut them off and together we cornered them until Lash got there. Then we would shove them into a locker or a trash can, or, if they were especially unlucky, they got swirlies.

I played Save the Citizen once and heartily enjoyed it, but it was rare that Speed and Lash didn't work together, so I spent most of gym sitting in the bleachers, picking out their next victims. I stuck to people that gave me dirty looks or who bumped into me in the hall, and I _never_ set the boys on Penny or Gwen, because I knew that they would find some way to make my life miserable. I tried to avoid them as much as possible, only interacting with Gwen when she preyed on Will.

Will didn't seem to want to talk to me in school. Even though he was in hero support, he was spending more and more time away from the sidekicks. Layla hadn't noticed yet, but I had a feeling that she would. I visited her at lunch when I could get away from Lash, and she was still the same old Layla. We talked about boys (Will and Lash) and we talked about the girls that we didn't like (Gwen and Penny) and we sometimes discussed the ever-looming homecoming (who Layla wanted to go with [Will] and who I hoped would stay away [Lash]).

I seemed to have a knack for befriending the people that didn't like my "brother," as Warren and I got along swimmingly. Lash and Speed were scared of him, so if I sat with the pyro at lunch, they usually left me alone for at least a couple minutes. Our fathers had done business before they were put in solitary, and after a lot of thought, we concluded that we had met at least once in the past. The only problem with Warren was his hatred for Will, but that could be worked around.

I was, thankfully, not at home when Steve found out that Will was in hero support instead of hero classes. I heard that it was terrifying, and I was suddenly glad that I had been hanging out at the Paper Lantern with Warren. Anything was better than an angry Steve Stronghold.

Of course, then there was the day when I was dealing with an angry Warren Peace. And that definitely rivaled Steve.

"Warren," I said, standing up as flames climbed up his arms. "Warren, no. We—we can hug this out!"

He went after Will like a dog goes after pepperoni. All I could was duck.

I pair of hands went around my waist and I was soon hauled over to Lash, who stood with Speed on the other side of the room.

"You jackass," I said as he pulled me up to his chest. "This is all your fault."

He grinned down at me. "Got you away from your boyfriend though, didn't it?"

I tried to shove him away, but for a stretchy guy, he was pretty strong. "He's not my-"

I was interrupted by a fireball that flew past my head. Dear lord, Warren was scary sometimes.

Lash and Speed just laughed. When he saw that I wasn't amused, the Elastic Waistband hugged me tight and swayed slightly. I really enjoyed it.

Dammit, I was going so soft…but I liked this cuddly business so very much.

"I didn't know you actually liked this," Lash said into my ear.

"Neither did I," I replied.

"We could do this all the time, you know."

I smiled. "We'll see, Stripes."

Really, I was confused when it came to Lash. I liked spending time with him…until he did something completely stupid. I really enjoyed his hugs…until he decided to be a jerk about something. So, basically, I liked Lash when he wasn't being Lash. Was that hypocritical? It seemed like it was. I didn't really think about it too hard.

Suddenly, Speed took off and Lash stretched an arm up to the ceiling, pulling me up with him as the fight drew dangerously close to us. "Lash, put me down."

"And let you burn? No way."

I grimaced and instead clung to him as tightly as I could. Glancing down, I saw Will crouching under the table Warren was standing on. Suddenly, he lifted it up. Oh, shit. Will was finally blooming.

"Hey, so…" Lash began, drawing my attention away. "Haven't been over to your place in a while."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, good for you. Things have been awful."

"Yeah?"

"Will told Steve that he didn't have any powers and he flipped the fuck out."

"My dad would murder me if I didn't have powers," Lash said.

"He a villain?" I asked, looking up at his brown eyes. They were pretty nice, those eyes.

He snorted a laugh. "No. He's just a normal guy. His father was a villain, though, and I guess he never got over the fact that he doesn't have powers. My mom does, though."

"Yeah? What does she do?"

"Empath."

"That's cool. My dad was just a crazy guy, so…"

"He was smart though, right? What was his name? Cerebellum?"

"Yeah," I said, drawing out the word until I didn't have any more breath. "Stupid, right?"

"A little."

"Mr. Livingston, come down from there!" Principle Powers yelled from down below as she dragged Will and the now extinguished Warren off to detention.

Lash sighed and stretched down to the floor, letting me go. "See you around."

"Yeah," I said as he left to find Speed.

"Hey, Sparrow, right?" I turned to see Gwen standing next to me. "Will's sister?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Who wants to know?"

"Oh, silly me, where are my manners?" she stuck her hand out and I took it hesitantly. "Gwen Grayson, student body president."

"Right."

"So, you've been hanging around Lash quite a bit lately." She regarded me with a critical stare. "Do you like him?"

Why would I tell _her? _"He's cool. Why?"

She smiled. "Just wondering. I'll see you in Mad Science."

That night, I thought Josie was going to eat her son. I had never seen her angry in quite this way before, and her calm demeanor was unsettling. So I stuck around to see what would happen to Will after he ripped the front door off its hinges.

"But guys," he said, so happy that I briefly considered the possibility that he was on drugs, "I got my powers!"

"And do you know how to use them?" Josie asked, hands still on her hips.

"Sanctum." Steve growled. "Now."

Aw, damn. I wanted to watch Will get chewed out.

Josie sighed after they had left. "What am I supposed to do with him, Sparrow?"

I shrugged. "You should be happy that he finally powered up."

"Oh, I am," she said. "I mean, I would be happier if he could fly, but I suppose that beggars can't be choosers."

"That's the spirit," I followed her into the kitchen.

"But enough about Will. How's school going for you? I haven't heard anything out of you for a while."

"It's okay. I'm passing everything."

"I hope you aren't giving the sidekicks too hard of a time," she said, pulling a pan of lasagna out of the oven.

I didn't really know what to say to that. "Only if they stay away from me."

She chuckled. "Well, I know it's hard to be patient with them." She looked over at me. "I'm proud of you, you know."

I smiled. "Thanks, Josie."

"Any time. So, tell me about that boy, Lash…is he still sticking around?"

My face reddened. "Josie!" I whined.

She laughed. "Has he asked you out yet?"

"No!" I said quickly.

"Well, tell him to get a move on! You won't be single forever!"

"At this rate, I will be." I muttered. Not that I cared, you know.

"So you _do _like him," she said, that all-knowing grin on her face. "When do I get to see him again?"

I wasn't too sure that Jetstream, one of the greatest heroes in modern history, needed to be spending time getting to know Lash, a stretchy high school bully. I'm sure she wouldn't be very impressed with him after she found out that he shoved kids into lockers for fun. Steve would probably mark him as a villain and stalk him until he graduated, after which he would throw him in prison, and then what would I be left with? Lash wouldn't hold up in jail.

"…Again?" I asked.

"Of course," she said. "Why not? Are you embarrassed of him? He seemed charming enough."

I shrugged again. "No. I just…he's not really the sort of company that you would keep. He's kind of…a jerk sometimes."

She smiled warmly. "Sparrow, all men go through that stage in high school. Steve tormented quite a few freshmen when we were in school, and look how he turned out."

_An all-too-perfect, somewhat thick-skulled, love child of Superman and Captain America? _"A real estate agent?"

She laughed. "Of course. The family business. I hope you'll consider going into it, too."

"Not sure I'm cut out for it. People would run the other way when I decided to tell them the truth about that weird smell coming from the attic."

"Oh, Sparrow. The trick is just to smile and not lie. Directly, at least."


	8. The Locker Room Incident

"Just shove him in there!" I said, hopping around behind Speed and Lash as they pushed a flailing Ethan into a locker.

"Guys, come on," Will said, interrupting our session.

I rolled my eyes. "Will, it's just a little fun with our best pal, Ethan. Right Ethan?"

"Let him go, Sparrow."

"Fine." The boys released their victim and he stumbled over to Will.

Maybe if we didn't say anything, he wouldn't notice the glowing in Lash's locker.

"Go on with your day," I said, ushering my brother away. "Nothing to see here."

He raised an eyebrow. "And him."

Lash and Speed rolled their eyes and opened Lash's locker. Zach stumbled out. "Not so tough when my boy's around, are you?"

Speed grunted and feigned a lunge toward him. He jumped back about a foot.

"You just think you're so big and bad, huh, Stronghold?" Lash asked.

"Will could take you any day!" Ethan piped up. I glared at him.

"Then how about a healthy little game, hm?" I asked, shoving Ethan aside to stand between lash and Will. "Save the Citizen. Will wins, Lash and Speed will lay off the sidekicks for the year."

"Yeah!" Zach said. "A-and if Will loses, you can shove Ethan's head in a toilet every day for the rest of his life!"

"Yeah!" Ethan agreed. "Wait, _what?"_

I smiled to myself. There was nothing I enjoyed more than watching Lash and Speed destroy other heroes during gym class, and I liked to think that this was a way of getting at Will for being so madly in love with Gwen.

Will looked at me in desperation, trying to find a way out of having to face them. I only offered a shrug.

"If the ladies want a fight, I suggest you give them one," I said. Speed nodded in agreement until he figured out the insult.

"You bi-"

I punched him in the shoulder hard enough to shut him up for a second. "This is settled, then."

Zach gave me a smug look, like he thought that I was going to lose something. Lash responded by relaxing his posture and throwing an arm around my shoulders. "C'mon. Let's get out of here. See you in gym, Stronghold."

I gave Will a smile as I turned and walked away. "Go easy on him, will you?"

Speed snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Why would we do that?" Lash asked. "He's super strong, isn't he? He'll be fine."

I sighed. "Just…don't do anything too bad, okay? I have to live with him, you know."

"Oh, he'll be fine. Don't worry your pretty little head."

"Lash."

"Yes, darling?"

"…Fuck off."

"Oh, Lash," I said as everyone crowded around Will to congratulate him on his use of Warren Peace as a projectile weapon to save the citizen. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

Lash groaned and flopped onto his side as Speed tried to stand. Neither of them looked even remotely okay.

"Come on, boys," I said, taking their hands and pulling them to their feet. "You heard Boomer."

Speed headed off to the locker room while Lash hung a sweaty arm around my shoulders. "Birdie, I think I need some comfort."

"You're fine."

"I think I'm pretty bruised."

"You'll survive."

"I think I've got some broken ribs."

"You're okay, Lash."

"I'm probably bleeding, too."

"What are you getting at?"

He smiled cockily. "The guys clear out of the locker room fast, and we both clearly need a shower."

I wrinkled my nose and shoved him away. "Take your own damn shower."

He tried to make a recovery, but I was already pushing him out of the gym and towards the already near-empty locker rooms. This cheeky bastard was going to be the death of me one day, but I sure as hell would be keeping my clothes on during the entire event.

"It's a shame, Birdie," he said as I shoved him toward the guys' locker room. "You really should reconsider-"

"I'm all right, thanks," I interrupted, not wanting to hear anything else out of him for a while.

"You sure?" he grinned again before grabbing my arm and hauling me inside with him.

"La-ash!" I squawked, hands over my face as he laughed.

"C'mon, open your eyes," he said. But I wasn't stupid. I could totally hear him taking his armor off, and while that was probably a sight I could most definitely go for, I wasn't about to let him think he was winning.

"Nope," I said, turning away from his voice.

"Sparrow," his hands were suddenly on mine, pulling them away from my face. I squeezed my eyes shut after catching a glimpse of his bare chest, the heat rising to my cheeks already. God, I was so bad when it came to attractive guys.

_Fuck, Sparrow! It's just Lash! _I thought to myself. _Don't get all sissy! _

_ But…he has his shirt off. _

Dammit.

"Open your eyes, Sparrow," he chuckled.

"Nah, I'm good." I said, trying to leave. He grabbed me before I got a chance to go anywhere and hugged me to him.

"C'mon, you know you want to look."

Slowly, reluctantly, I cracked an eye open. God, he was pretty. He wasn't very buff, but he was lean, and he had a six pack, which always helps. With a sly grin, he pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles, making my face flush even more.

"Lash, stop."

"Why?" he asked, peering down at me with his chocolate eyes. "Don't you like it?"

"Yes. I mean…NO! I—stop it!"

"Would you rather I kiss you elsewhere?" he waggled his eyebrows.

I bit my lip, trying to figure out what to do. I obviously wasn't good at this sort of thing. I guess that it turns out that extra adrenaline isn't all that helpful when it comes to flirting. What was I supposed to do? I wanted to kiss him. Like, on the lips. But, for the first time in my life, I didn't have the guts.

But Lash, oh, he was crafty. He could read my mind, I decided, and went in for the kill with a kiss that made me tingle all over. You know all of those cheesy romance novels and their knack for making the girl seem like a squiggly blob of emotions? Remember how when she gets her first kiss, her knees get all wobbly and she sees stars? Yeah, those books are full of lies. Real kisses aren't like that. My knees stayed pretty stationary, and I don't think I saw any stars or fireworks, but I might as well have had a heart attack, because I could hear it hammering away in my ribs.

Lash pulled away and grinned. "Not too shabby, Birdie."

I smiled, courage returning. "You weren't so bad yourself, Stretch."

"That sounds irresistibly dirty, you know."

"Oh, I know."

I pulled him down for another kiss and had barely met his lips when we were rudely interrupted by Coach Boomer.

"What the—both of you, detention!"

"Boomer!" I whined.

"NOW!"

And so, I spent a few hours in the detention room with Lash. Principal Powers gave us both a long talking to about how there is a "time and place for everything" or something stupid like that, but I wasn't really listening. I was too busy reliving the feeling of Lash's lips against mine.

So what did we do, during those few hours of boredom? We talked. I know, isn't it crazy that we behaved? Well we did. Mostly because I was starting to get terrified of what I would face when I got home, since it turned out that The Commander wasn't too fond of detentions.

"You _what?" _he roared as I tried to explain myself.

It wasn't working very well.

"I told you," I said as we stood in the kitchen. "I was in the locker room-"

"The _boys' _locker room?"

"Yes. And Lash was taking his armor off-"

"You aren't helping yourself, young lady."

"I know. Do you want to hear my story or not?"

"I do."

"Lash took his shirt off, and then-"

"That's it, I'm going to crush him." Steve said, slamming his hand down on the counter.

"Please don't,"

"I don't want some boy taking advantage of you, Sparrow," he growled. "I'm going to protect you, no matter what it takes."

"Steve, Lash isn't any threat to you or me," I said. "He's actually really sweet. I really like him, so if you could please just not screw this up for me, that'd be great."

He sighed and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. "If I so much as hear anything about you two doing _anything, _you will be grounded and he will be in a coffin. Understood?"

"Yes sir," I said, biting back a smile. I had just gotten clearance to date.


	9. I Kinda Like You, Too

**This chapter is super short, and I'm sowwy owo I haven't been doing much with this story lately, and I just really really wanted to get another something up. But I already started working on the next chapter, so you'll have that very soon, and hopefully it'll make up for my failure .**

Why was everyone around me so angry all of a sudden?

Oh, right. Because Will stood Layla up. Now I remember.

And now, suddenly, she was going to Homecoming with Warren, just to piss Will off. Seemed like a foolproof plan, didn't it?

I tried to spend as much time working out as I could. It took my mind off of the fact that Will was turning into a jerk and that Gwen was closer than ever to successfully seducing him. If I could, I would break her jaw, but when I voiced my opinions to Lash and Speed, they quickly shot it down, shaking their heads vigorously. I wasn't an idiot. I knew that they were scared of Gwen Grayson.

The pain and suffering that Will was causing Layla was almost as traumatic to me as it was for her. She had always loved him, ever since they were little, and now he was totally smitten with the technopathic queen bee. And God forbid I even _try _to talk to them at lunch, because Penny chased me off immediately every time. Not only that, but she was also trying to isolate me from _the entire hero class._ I could handle her bitchy comments, and I could deal with her dirty looks, but when it came down to trying to keep Lash away from me, I couldn't cope.

"Stay _away _from the Stronghold girl, Livingston." She ordered as they talked outside the locker rooms. Thank God they didn't know I was there.

"Fuck off, Penny," he said as I stood just on the other side of the door. That's my boy. Sticking it to the man and all that.

"_Gwen _doesn't approve of the two of you," Penny snapped. "And neither do I. So get rid of her now, before things get messy."

"Why don't you get rid of all of _your _special friends, and then we'll talk?"

Atta boy, Lash. Point out all of her flaws. Remind her that she's a whore. I'm sure it won't end badly at all.

"_Fine, _Lash. But don't blame _me _when she messes up all of Gwen's plans."

Plans? _Gwen has plans?_ I knew it! I wasn't totally paranoid for nothing!

…But what _were _the plans?

If I thought that Gwen had been all over Will before his classes were switched, then she was just raping him now. He was really ignoring the sidekicks, and I suddenly didn't feel quite so guilty. I was just angry at him.

I was even angrier when I came home from a completely undeserved detention with Warren to find Gwen at my fuckin' house. Fixed the disposal my ass. I didn't know what she was up to, but I would never trust her. Not now, not in a million years—not even if she saved the world twice. I knew a bitch when I saw one, and Gwen Greyson was a Class A.

I about flipped my lid when I realized that Steve and Josie trusted her completely. So, I spent my nights locked in my room, ignoring the fact that she was downstairs looking through old yearbooks with them. If something happened, I didn't want to be involved. The cops would go after me first.

Then, one day, I came home to find her and Will in his room. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't interrupt them at least once?

"You two behaving in here?" I asked, leaning in the doorway.

Will took his blindfold off. "Sparrow? What are you doing home?"

"I live here, you know."

Gwen clearly didn't want me there. "I was starting to think you lived with Lash," she said, batting her eyelashes.

"And I'm starting to doubt that you live anywhere," I shot back. Regaining my composure, I straightened and turned to leave. "Be safe, kids."

Not half an hour later, I heard the front door open and close. And open and close. And open and close several hundred more times. Then came the music, and I realized that I was sitting above a house party.

Dammit, Will. I hated house parties.

A morbid curiosity drove me out of my room and down the stairs, where laser-eye kid was making a light show and Larry was flirting with everyone. The music was loud and there were coolers filled with all sorts of things. I was going to murder Will for this.

I wandered around the living room, looking for someone to hurt. I was going to beat the shit out of that boy if it was the last thing I did. He would hang out the window for a few hours, just for discomfort, and then I would—

"Fancy meeting you here," a hand went over my eyes. "Guess."

"Stripey, I'm not really-"

"So you do actually know me. Reassuring." Lash took his hand away and used it to grab one of my own.

My nose twitched in displeasure. "The Commander is going to roast my ass for this."

Lash smiled. "Just enjoy it until then."

I sighed. "Why are you even here?"

He studied my face for a minute. "Homecoming committee was having problems, so Gwen invited everyone over."

"I hardly believe you're on the committee," I said.

"So, word spread." He shrugged. "Whatever."

Highly suspicious.

He tugged on my hand. "So…this is your house."

"Yeah, so?" I snapped. "You've been here before."

"So…you've got a room somewhere, don't you? A bedroom?"

I shoved him away. "Oh my _God, _Lash, don't even-"

"Come on, I never said we would fuck."

I rolled my eyes. But…I _did _want to disappear so that I couldn't be blamed for anything. "Fine. Follow me."

Taking him up the stairs, I realized that this was the first time I had ever led a boy to my room, much less at a party. And he was pretty damn good looking, too.

When the door was shut and I could hear myself think again, I started to tell myself that whatever happened when Steve and Josie got home, it would all be on Will. I had nothing to do with it, and even if they came up here and found Lash in my room, they would be so preoccupied with their son that it wouldn't matter.

I hoped.

"You gonna sit down, or what?" Lash asked, pulling me onto my bed with him. He put an arm around me and I instinctively snuggled into it, resting my face in that area between his neck and shoulder. As he ran his hands around my back, it took me a few minutes of relaxing before I realized that he had already managed to unhook my bra.

"Dammit, Lash!" I sat up, trying to fix it again. "How the hell did you do that?"

He grinned. "I'm just that good."

"Fuck you."

His grin widened into a Cheshire one. "I know you want to, but please, control yourself!"

I gave him an exasperated look as I finally got my bra back in place, pushing my boobs down for good measure. "You, Lash—if that even _is _your real name, which I doubt!—are positively _insufferable."_

See? I could be witty at times.

He laughed softly. "Anson."

"…What?"

"Anson. That's my name."

I mulled it over for a minute. It really wasn't that bad of a name. "Anson." I let it roll of my tongue. "Why do you go by Lash?"

He shrugged. "Speed came up with it when we were kids. It kind of stuck after that."

"What's Speed's real name?"

Lash grinned. "Mike."

"Seriously?"

"Don't tell him I told you."

I smiled and leaned back against Lash's chest. "You're warm."

"Mmhmm," he said into my neck as he hugged me from behind. "Sparrow?"

"Yeah?"

"What…what do you think of me?"

"What?" I asked, somewhat surprised by him. He was being uncharacteristically deep.

"I mean, do you think I'm an asshole, or…what?"

I blinked a couple times. "No."

"So…?"

I felt my face heating up. "This isn't like you, Lash. You're freaking me out."

He shrugged. "Just thought I'd give it a try."

"Give what a try?"

He ignored me and pulled me down on the bed with him. "Would you wanna…oh, I dunno, go out sometime?"

I tried to hide my grin. "Sure."

He smiled and grabbed my chin. "I kinda like you, Sparrow."

"I kinda like you, too," I said, leaning in for a kiss.


	10. -Insert Witty Title Here-

**Here you go! ^-^' This took longer to update than I wanted, and I'm oh so sorry...but you have it! Voila! And I'm dying to know...what's YOUR answer to their game of Would You Rather? **

**I don't own Sky High, but if I did, we all know what would happen to Lash.**

"Okay, okay," I said excitedly, grabbing Lash's hands. "Would you rather…give Wolverine a prostate exam, or be Wonder Woman's gynecologist?"

"You're insane."

"That's not an answer."

He rolled his eyes. "I'd die either way!"

"Exactly!"

"Can I have a third option?"

"That defeats the purpose of the game," I said. "Just answer."

"Mm…nah." He leaned back and stretched out on my bed. "I'm too cool for this game anyways."

It was my turn to do some eye-rolling. "As if. You have the mental capacity of a twelve year old girl."

"That's funny, because you _look _like a twelve year old girl."  
I gasped dramatically. "Bastard!"

"Bitch."

We had been talking like this for half an hour while the party raged on downstairs. We were only interrupted once, when Speed and, surprisingly, Penny, walked in looking for a place to get it on. Lash cussed and threw him out while I stared in horror and realized that my house would never be clean again.

I was opening my mouth to say something when Lash attacked my lips with his own, taking advantage of my open mouth and sneaking his tongue in. He flipped us over so that he loomed above me. As I fought with him for dominance, I realized that tongues are incredibly, indisputably, and irrevocably, weird as hell.

Lash put his arms around my waist and pulled me down with him as he pulled his tongue out of my mouth and peppered my neck with kisses, moving down until he found a spot he seemed to like and began sucking at it. Oh god. He was giving me a hickey.

You can't hide hickeys from super-protective fathers, especially if they're the Commander.

"Lash," I warned, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him away. "If the Commander-"

As if on cue, there was a thundering noise downstairs. Lash pulled away from my neck to look at me with puzzlement. Crawling out from under him, I walked to the window and pulled it open to find nearly all of my classmates running down the street.

Shit.

I heard footsteps running up the stairs as Will went to his room and hoped that no one else would come up. But, of course, only a few moments later I heard Steve calling my name.

"Under the bed," I ordered, throwing Lash to the floor.

He complied and I smoothed the bedsheets before picking up a book and settling myself down like nothing had even happened. "Yeah, Steve?"

He appeared in the doorway, still wearing his red, white, and blue outfit. "I take it you didn't party very much."

I put my book down. "Yeah, well, you know me. Not much of a social life here."

Steve smiled and picked up a framed photo of the four of us, taken just a few months after they adopted me. "You always were a quiet one. Didn't talk for three weeks after we brought you home, and you only did because Will pulled your hair and you thought it was necessary to throw him through a wall."

I heard a snort from under the bed gave a quick "SHH!" Steve looked at me curiously and I just smiled. "You grounding Will, or what?"

He sighed and shook his head. "He said it wasn't his fault, and I believe him. Your mother tried to keep him from going to the dance, but he told us that he wasn't going. Do you know about that?"

"No,"

"Hmm. Because it was my understanding that he was going with Gwen."

I stiffened. "So he's not?"

"I've noticed that you don't seem to like her," he said, intuitive as ever.

"Not really."

"Any particular reason?"

_She's evil, she's hiding something, and she's totally trying to take advantage of Will? _"I just get a bad vibe, you know?"

He nodded thoughtfully and tapped his forehead. "Trust your instincts, Sparrow. They'll save you one day."

Whatever you say, Steve.

"While I'm here, is there…well, is there anything you wanna talk about?"

I stared at him. "Like…what, exactly?"

He started to look uncomfortable but tried to shrug it off like a manly man. "Oh, I don't know…anything? School? Boys?"

"Steve, have I ever talked to you about boys?"

"Not that I can recall. Is it time to start?"

"…No. I think I'm okay."

"Okay." He gave me a warm smile before turning to leave. "Oh, and Sparrow?"

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking about that Lash, and…he does seem to be a nice boy, and I didn't see him fleeing the party, so I just wanted to say that if you want to, you can…" he sighed. "…go ahead and date him."

My face reddened a little, but I was more concerned about trying to keep my cool as my heart jumped at the notion of the two of us together. "Um…thanks, Steve."

He headed for the door again and suddenly whirled around rather threateningly. "But he had better not get you pregnant."

"STEVE!" my face was practically on fire, it was so red.

"I mean it," he growled. "If I even _think _that you _might_ be having-"

"STEVE, GET OUT."

He gave a cheerful smile. "Night, honey."

I sat glaring after him as he shut the door and finally went back downstairs. That little encounter would definitely be added to the "Most Awkward Father-Daughter Moments" list. Probably pretty close to the top, too.

Suddenly, Lash was sitting next to me, laughing.

"Don't even," I growled.

"Lighten up," he said, brushing his lips over my ear.

I scowled and folded my arms over my chest. "At least the house is quiet now."

Lash grinned and moved so that he was on top of me again. "Not when I'm through with you."

I gave him an exasperated look. "You're just a horndog tonight, aren't you?"

He grinned. "I like that."

"Thought you would."

His lips were suddenly on mine again, crashing against mine as he tried to get his tongue past my defenses. But I wasn't about to give in, and resisted his nips and tugs with all my might. I was strong, but he was clever, and distracted me by groping my chest, earning a sharp intake of breath that gave him just enough time to get his tongue in my mouth and start exploring.

I felt myself heating up as his hands did as they pleased and suddenly panicked. "Lash,"

"Hmm?"

"The Commander and Jetstream are literally down the hall."

"So?"

"This isn't a good idea…"

He smirked and kissed me roughly, gripping my waist. "Fine, then. I won't be greedy…for now."

I felt stupid for stopping him. I was enjoying it, really, but that parental shadow seemed to be looming over me. Steve trusted me so much…I wasn't _trying _to suck up to him or anything, but didn't I at least owe it to him to behave? Besides, if he found Lash in my room even _with _his clothes on and being a perfect angel, he would splatter his guts across the wall.

"Hey, so…I know it's short notice but…there's a dance tomorrow…"

I rolled my eyes. "You act like I haven't been hearing about it every day for the past month." My heart gave a little jump, though.

"…Wanna go with me?"

Me? Get all gussied up to go drink spiked punch in a high school gym while tons of horny teenagers around me grind on each other and then make plans to have sex afterwards? I would have to get a dress. I would have to convince Josie that I could do my own makeup. However, I would get to see Lash in a suit, and that…that was tempting.

I smiled wryly. "Are you going to get all fancy?"

A slight tint of pink spread across his face. "Yeah…I guess…."

"In a _suit?" _

"I know you want to see it," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I suppose I could deal with that."

He grinned and kissed my nose. "I thought you'd agree. Make sure your dress is revealing enough for my tastes."

"Would you fuck off?" I gave him a small shove.

His response was to pull me to his chest and wrap his arms around me (several times). "You aren't getting away now."

I didn't even put up a fight. "How do you know I want to?" I asked, melting a little bit as I pulled the covers over us.

"Ooh, cozy," Lash quipped.

"Shut up. If you act like an ass, I'm kicking you out on your sorry ass."


	11. Obtaining A Dress

**Been a while, hasn't it? Well, I'm not dead! Have this fluffy little chapter to tide you over until we get to the fun part in the next one! I'm not sure how many chapters will be coming, but we ARE nearing the end. I don't plan on continuing this past where the movie leaves off, but I guess you never really know for sure. But anyway, here we are! Go! Read and enjoy yourselves!**

"Sparrow! Sparrow, I need to borrow your phone," Will called from down the hall.

I groaned and rolled over only to be met with someone's face. "Ow."

Oh. Right. Lash was still here.

He yawned. "Morning, beautiful." His chocolate eyes were tired and half-open, shaggy brown hair falling over his face in some places and sticking up in others. It was a sight I could get used to.

"Sparrow?" Will called again.

"What?" I asked, still bleary.

"Phone?" I could hear him at the door and just rolled over again so that my face was in a pillow. It was morning. I was supposed to be sleeping, not letting my stupid brother wake me up at ungodly hours.

"Phone, Sparr…ow?" I could practically feel his stare on the back of my head.

"Yes?" I said, voice muffled by the pillow and the fact that Lash decided to roll onto me. "Dammit, Lash."

At first I thought he was just being a jerk, but then I realized that he had fallen asleep again. This guy was worse than me. He was now stretched out across my entire bed, his face tucked into the space between my neck and my shoulder as I struggled to breathe through the pillow that had suddenly become my enemy.

"Sparrow, do you have any idea what dad will do if he finds him here?" Will hissed, closing the door.

"Never really thought it through," I said tiredly. "Now just go away, I have sleeping to do."

"Come on, get up!" he said, grabbing my ankle to pull me out of bed.

"No!" I yelled into my pillow.

But that's the thing about younger brothers; they think that "no" means "yes" and "stop pulling on my fucking ankle" is a green light for dragging you away from your mattress. But I wasn't so easily swayed, and grabbed on to the nearest solid thing, which just so happened to be Lash.

"The fuck?" he grumbled as we began sliding off the bed.

"You have to resist!" I said as I hit the floor. Lash followed and landed on me, probably breaking something that I needed to function.

"Stronghold?" he asked as he sat up.

"Yeah?" Will asked, already heading toward the door.

"You are _so _dead."

Will practically flew down the stairs while I wasted no time in ushering Lash toward the window.

"Aww, babe, come on," he said as I pushed him out.

"Nope. You're leaving before the Commander can find you."

He grinned sleepily. Oh, how I adored him like this. "A'ight, fine. I'll see you tonight, sweet cheeks."

With that, he was out the window. I peered out to make sure that he hadn't killed himself—not that I cared, of course—and saw him heading off toward the road. He turned and grinned at me, saluting before he continued on his way.

Suddenly, my heart was all aflutter with girlish excitement. I was going to homecoming. With a really hot guy. I still needed a dress, but I figured that Layla would be able to help me with that.

I left my room to go after Will and found him getting an apple out of the kitchen. I promptly tackled him.

"Ow!" he squawked as I got him in a chokehold. "What's this for?!"

"Waking me up!" I yelled. He easily threw me off and into the wall, where I stayed for a second before jumping up and head butting him in the stomach, plowing straight across the room until we crashed in a heap out in the living room.

"What are you two doing?" Josie asked, staring at us as she closed her phone. "Never mind. I've got a big sale this morning, so I want you to _behave. _Please, _don't_ destroy the house."

"Of course!" we chirped innocently.

She smiled as she headed for the front door. "Oh, hello Layla."

I glared at Will before untangling myself from his legs and strutting out of the room to the ginger girl. She was definitely not here to talk to him, and I could only guess that she was developing psychic abilities, because I definitely needed her at the moment.

"Hey, Sparrow," she said, trying to hide her uneasiness.

"What's up?" I asked, leaning in the doorway.

She stared past me at something and I turned to see Will popping his head around the corner to watch. "Can we…take a walk?"

"Definitely." I hopped out the door and together we made our way to the sidewalk.

"I saw Lash leave a few minutes ago," she said finally, breaking the silence.

"Oh?"

"Are you going to homecoming with him?" I could tell that she was holding herself back, trying her best not to reprimand me. I don't think she would ever be able to accept Lash, seeing as he was such an asshole to her and all of her friends.

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that," I said. "I need a dress."

She stared at me. "The dance is _tonight, _Sparrow!"

"I know."

"You waited until _now _to get a dress?!"

"He only asked me yesterday!"

She sighed in mock frustration. "I guess I could help. My mom has a friend-"

"I knew you'd come through!" I interrupted as she rolled her eyes.

"Let's go meet her, then."

It turned out that Layla's mom knew a woman named Lisa who was in the fashion industry. She owned a little boutique downtown where she catered mainly to bridal parties and girls during the prom season, and although I had never been there before, I had heard of her.

Lisa had graduated from Sky High back in the day and, like so many other superheroes, used her power not for regular crime fighting but instead in her every day job. She had the telekinetic ability to bend fabric to her will, enabling her to create magnificent, runway-ready dresses in mere minutes. Apparently she had perfected it to the point where, if she had enough sewing machines, she could get twenty done at the same time.

So she measured me and disappeared into the back room while I waited with Layla, who was currently trying on her own dress.

"Does it look okay?" she asked, spinning in front of the mirrors.

"Of course," I mumbled. I wasn't really into this sort of thing.

"I'm not sure if I like the waistline," she mused. "What do you think?"

I sighed. "It's fine, Layla. You're very pretty."

"Here we are!" Lisa said, walking out with a dark blue dress in her arms. "Come, come! Try it on!"

The fabric was an iridescent blue that shimmered in the light, shifting from a bright purple to nearly black every time I moved. There was a silver halter neckline that tied before exposing my open back, and the skirt flared out at the waist below a tight torso.

Layla gasped before clapping excitedly. "I love it!"

"Well enjoy it while you can," I grumbled. "This is the only time you'll ever see me in anything like this."


End file.
